Multi-stage airbag in vehicle with reconfigurable

ABSTRACT

A steering wheel is locatable between an operational position at a driver seat of a vehicle and a stowed position in the vehicle. A first airbag is coupled to the steering wheel, and a multi-stage airbag laterally overlaps the driver seat and a passenger seat of the vehicle next to the driver seat. A controller includes instructions for detecting a frontal collision, locating the steering wheel, deploying the first airbag at the driver seat and the multi-stage airbag at the passenger seat when the steering wheel is in the operational position, and deploying the multi-stage airbag at the driver and passenger seats when the steering wheel is in the stowed position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 14/220,452filed Mar. 20, 2014, entitled “AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH RECONFIGURABLEINTERIOR,” which in turn is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No.14/085,135 filed on Nov. 20, 2013, U.S. Ser. No. 14/085,158 filed onNov. 20, 2013, and U.S. Ser. No. 14/085,166 filed on Nov. 20, 2013, eachentitled “AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH RECONFIGURABLE SEATS”. The contents ofeach of the foregoing applications are hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Autonomous vehicles are becoming more sophisticated. As the level ofsophistication increases, the amount of passenger interaction requiredby the autonomous vehicle decreases. Eventually, autonomous vehicles mayrequire no passenger interaction beyond, e.g., selecting a destination,leaving passengers to focus on non-driving-related tasks. While a humanoperator may remain “in the driver's seat,” i.e., proximate to vehiclecomponents such as a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal,gearshift lever, etc., components such as the steering wheel may bereconfigured to provide the passenger more room during autonomousoperation. As airbags for a passenger in the driver seat are typicallyhoused in the steering wheel, vehicles are generally not equipped withanother frontal impact airbag for a passenger in the driver seatseparate and apart from that housed in the steering wheel. However,inclusion of another completely independent airbag mechanism for thedriver may be difficult or otherwise undesirable in view of cost andpackaging targets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary autonomous vehicle with reconfigurableinterior.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system that may be used in theautonomous vehicle of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate one exemplary passenger compartment of anautonomous vehicle with reconfigurable interior.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary passenger compartment having an airbaglocated between rows of seats.

FIG. 5 illustrates a second exemplary passenger compartment of anautonomous vehicle with reconfigurable interior.

FIG. 6 illustrates a third exemplary passenger compartment of anautonomous vehicle with reconfigurable interior.

FIG. 7 illustrates a fourth exemplary passenger compartment of anautonomous vehicle with reconfigurable interior.

FIG. 8 illustrates a fifth exemplary passenger compartment of anautonomous vehicle with reconfigurable interior.

FIG. 9 is a top view of an exemplary vehicle having selectively enabledairbags.

FIG. 10 is a top view of another exemplary vehicle having a steeringwheel airbag and a selectively deployable multi-stage airbag.

FIGS. 11-12 are partial perspective and top views, respectively, of theexemplary vehicle of FIG. 10 with the steering wheel airbag deployed atthe driver seat and the multi-stage airbag deployed only at thepassenger seat.

FIGS. 13-14 are partial perspective and top views, respectively, of theexemplary vehicle of FIG. 10 with the steering wheel stowed and themulti-stage airbag deployed at the passenger and driver seats.

FIG. 15 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process ofdeploying steering wheel and multi-stage airbags in a vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An exemplary autonomous vehicle includes a steering wheel located in apassenger compartment. The steering wheel is configured to be moved froman operational position to a stowed position. In the event of acollision, a first airbag is configured to deploy when the steeringwheel is in the operational position and a second airbag is configuredto deploy at the driver seat when the steering wheel is in the stowedposition. In some implementations, the second airbag may be in the formof a multi-stage airbag configured to selectively deploy at thepassenger seat only when the steering wheel is in the operationalposition, or at both the driver and passenger seats when the steeringwheel is in the stowed position. For example, a programmed controller inthe vehicle may determine airbag deployment. The vehicle may furtherinclude autonomous driving sensors and an autonomous controller thatreceives signals generated by the autonomous driving sensors (e.g.,sensors for driving the vehicle in an autonomous mode) and controls atleast one vehicle subsystem to operate the vehicle in autonomous modeaccording to the signals received.

The FIGS. 1-9 illustrate exemplary views of an autonomous vehicle 100with a reconfigurable interior, and the FIGS. 10-14 illustrate exemplaryviews of another exemplary vehicle 100′. The vehicle may take manydifferent forms and include multiple and/or alternate components andfacilities. While an exemplary vehicle is shown, the exemplarycomponents illustrated are not intended to be limiting. Indeed,additional or alternative components and/or implementations may be used.Moreover, the components shown in the FIGS. are not necessarily drawn toscale.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the vehicle 100 includes a passengercompartment 105 located in an interior of the vehicle 100. The passengercompartment 105 may include any part of the vehicle 100 where passengersmay sit while the vehicle 100 is operating. In addition, the passengercompartment 105 may include seats 110 and controls that allow a driverto control operation of the vehicle 100. Examples of controls mayinclude a steering wheel 115, an accelerator pedal 120, a brake pedal125, etc. Although illustrated as a sedan, the vehicle 100 may includeany passenger or commercial vehicle such as a car, a truck, a sportutility vehicle, a taxi, a bus, etc.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 130 that may be used inthe autonomous vehicle 100. As shown, the system 130 includes a userinterface device 135, autonomous driving sensors 140, a controller 145that comprises a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructionexecutable by the processor for performing various steps including asdisclosed herein, a seat motor 150, and one or more crash sensors 320.

The user interface device 135 may be configured to present informationto a user, such as a driver, during operation of the vehicle 100.Moreover, the user interface device 135 may be configured to receiveuser inputs. Thus, the user interface device 135 may be located in thepassenger compartment 105 of the vehicle 100. In some possibleapproaches, the user interface device 135 may include a touch-sensitivedisplay screen.

The autonomous driving sensors 140 may include any number of devicesconfigured to generate signals that help navigate the vehicle 100 whilethe vehicle 100 is operating in an autonomous (e.g., driverless) mode.Examples of autonomous driving sensors 140 may include a radar sensor, alidar sensor, a camera, or the like. The autonomous driving sensors 140help the vehicle 100 “see” the roadway and the vehicle surroundingsand/or negotiate various obstacles while the vehicle 100 is operating inthe autonomous mode.

The controller 145 may be configured to control one or more subsystems155 while the vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode. Examplesof subsystems 155 that may be controlled by the controller 145 mayinclude a brake subsystem, a suspension subsystem, a steering subsystem,and a powertrain subsystem. The controller 145 may control any one ormore of these subsystems 155 by outputting signals to control unitsassociated with these subsystems 155. The controller 145 may control thesubsystems 155 based, at least in part, on signals generated by theautonomous driving sensors 140.

The seat motors 150 may be configured to control the position and/ororientation of one or more seats 110 inside the passenger compartment105. Each motor 150 may be associated with only one seat 110.Alternatively, a single motor 150 may be used to move multiple seats110, including an entire row of seats 110. The motor 150 may operate inaccordance with control signals output by the user interface device 135.For example, the user interface device 135 may receive commands from thedriver or another passenger indicating a desire for one or more seats110 to adopt a particular configuration. The motor 150 may automaticallyadjust the seats 110 to the desired configuration, including one or morepredetermined configurations defined by a seat memory system. The motor150 may be configured to apply one of the predetermined configurationsbased on the person in the seat 110. The seat occupant may be identifiedfrom, e.g., sensors located in the passenger compartment 105. If theseat occupant is unknown, the motor 150 may move the seat 110 to adefault configuration. Examples of different possible seat 110configurations are described in greater detail below. For example, themotor 150 may cause the seat 110 to pivot, fold, unfold, slide, recline,etc.

The crash sensors 320 include one or more known sensors for detecting acollision or imminent collision in a vehicle 100. For example, crashsensors 320 may include accelerometer, radar, image sensors, etc. Thesensors 320 provide data to the controller 145 which may operate in aknown manner to identify a collision or imminent collision, e.g., afrontal collision, of the vehicle 100.

Referring now to FIGS. 3A-3B, the passenger compartment 105 includes anumber of seats 110 and a center console 160. The seats 110 may includeone or more bucket seats, captain's chairs, bench seats, split benchseats, or the like. Moreover, the seats 110 may be separated into rows,including a first row, a second row, and in some instances, a third row(see, e.g., FIG. 8). The first row may generally refer to the rowclosest to the front of the vehicle 100. One or more seats 110, such asthe seats 110 in the first row, may be moved from a front-facingposition to a rear-facing position while the vehicle is stationary orwhile the vehicle is moving to allow the passengers in the vehicle 100to face one another when the vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomousmode.

One way to move the seats 110 from the front-facing position to therear-facing position may be to rotate the seat 110. The seat 110 may berotated about an axis 175A that extends generally perpendicularly from afloor of the vehicle 100 and through a center of the seat 110. Rotatingthe seat 110 may occur automatically when the vehicle 100 is operatingin the autonomous mode or while the vehicle is parked. Moreover, theseat 110 may be rotated manually by, e.g., removing and repositioningthe seat 110 or spinning the seat 110 about the axis 175A.

Alternatively, one part of the seat 110, such as a back portion 165(FIG. 5), may pivot relative to another part of the seat 110, such as abottom portion 170 (FIG. 5). FIGS. 3A-3B show how the back portion 165may pivot relative to an axis 175B defined by the bottom portion 170.That is, the back portion 165 of the seat 110 may include one or morearms 180 that are pivotally attached to a frame 185 of the bottomportion 170. When the back portion 165 has been pivoted to a rear-facingposition, the bottom portion 170 may become angled toward the front ofthe vehicle 100 as shown. The movement of the seat 110 from thefront-facing position to the rear-facing position, and vice versa, maybe actuated manually or by the motor 150 (not shown in FIGS. 3A-3B) whenthe vehicle 100 is stationary or operating in the autonomous mode.Different ways of reorienting the seats are described for illustrativepurposes only. Other suitable ways to reorient the seats while thevehicle is stationary or moving in autonomous mode may alternatively beused.

As shown in FIG. 3B, a seatbelt 205 may be disposed on each seat 110(shown only on the driver's seat for clarity), and the seatbelt 205 maybe configured to move with the movement of the seat 110. Thus, theorientation of the seatbelt 205 may be fixed relative to the orientationof the seat 110. Moreover, the seatbelt 205 may be separate from otherparts of the vehicle 100. Thus, the reorientation of the seat 110 is nothindered by the position of the seatbelt 205. In some possibleapproaches, the seatbelt 205 may include an inflator and abelt-integrated airbag 210. The belt-integrated airbag 210 may bedeployed with one or more other airbags 190 (FIG. 4) in the event of acollision. The belt-integrated airbag 210 may be configured to deployregardless of the orientation of the seat 110. In some implementations,however, the belt-integrated airbag 210 may be configured to deploy onlywhen the seat 110 is facing, e.g., a rearward orientation. Thus, theinflator and belt-integrated airbag 210 in the seatbelt 205 may bedisabled when the seat 110 is in a front-facing orientation.

A locking mechanism (not shown) may prevent the seat 110 from beingmoved to the rear-facing position, and vice versa. The locking mechanismmay be manually unlocked by the user or automatically by, e.g., themotor 150 or another device. The original position of the seat 110 isshown in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 3B shows one of the seats 110 in a rearwardposition.

The console 160 located between the two front seats 110 may beconfigured to slide toward the front of the vehicle 100 when one or bothseats 110 in the front row are in the rear-facing position.Alternatively, the console 160 may slide toward the back of the vehicle100 to a position between the first and second rows of seats 110. Thisway, when one or more seats 110 in the first row are oriented in arear-facing position, the center console 160 may act as a tableavailable for passengers in either the first row and/or second row touse. The rearward movement of the central console 160 may alsofacilitate the reorientation of seats 110, which move between forwardand rearward orientations by, e.g., rotational movements. In otherwords, the entire console 160 may move toward a center of the passengercompartment 105 to allow one or more of the seats 110 to changeorientations. In some implementations, the console 160 may be configuredto rotate. The console 160 may be moved by, e.g., lifting the console160 about a hinge and either sliding or rotating the console 160 out ofthe path of the seats 110 or via a stepper motor. Therefore, the console160 may be repositioned so as not to interfere with the reorientation ofthe seats 110 or a passenger's legs as the seats 110 are changingorientation. FIG. 3A shows the console 160 in its original positionwhile FIG. 3B shows the console 160 moved away from the front of thevehicle 100.

The console 160 may include an integrated computing device 215, whichmay include a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, orthe like. In FIG. 3A, the computing device 215 is shown as a laptopcomputer in a closed position. Operation of the computing device 215 maybe limited to passengers in the passenger seat or the rear seats whenthe vehicle 100 is operating in manual mode. For example, the operationof the computing device 215 may be controlled by the relativeorientation of the computing device 215 with respect to the vehicle 100.The computing device 215 may be attached such that selective rotationalmovement of the computing device 215 relative to the vehicle 100 may beallowed. When the vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode, thecomputing device 215 may be available for all passengers. The computingdevice 215 may be integrated into the vehicle electrical system via,e.g., a docking station integrated into the console 160. Thus, in someinstances, the computing device 215 may be removable from the console160. The computing device 215 may be configured to implement one or moretelecommunication protocols such as, but not limited to, Ethernet,Bluetooth®, or Wi-Fi. The computing device 215 may be tethered to theconsole 160 or another component in the passenger compartment 105 to,e.g., limit movement of the computing device 215 while the vehicle 100is in operation.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an airbag 190 may be located in the passengercompartment 105 between the first and second rows of seats 110. Theairbag 190 may be deployed as a result of a collision while the vehicle100 is operating in the autonomous mode and/or in a non-autonomous mode.The airbag 190 may be shaped such that a single airbag may be used forall passengers, including rear-facing passengers sitting in the firstrow and front-facing passengers sitting in the second row or multipleairbags may be used. Although the seats 110 shown in FIG. 4 areseparate, the seats 110 may include bench seats or split bench seatsthat form an entire row, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a passenger compartment 105 with two rows ofbench seats 110. In FIG. 5, the first row is arranged in a rear-facingposition and the second row is arranged in a front-facing position.Although not shown in FIG. 5, the front bench seat 110 may include arms180 and a frame 185 similar to those shown in FIG. 3 for moving thefront bench seat 110 into the rear-facing position. Therefore, the backportion 165 of the bench seat 110 may be configured to pivot about theaxis 175B (see FIG. 3) defined by the bottom portion 170 to move intothe rear-facing position. Pivoting the back portion 165 about the axis175B and toward the front of the passenger compartment 105 may cause thebench seat 110 to be arranged in the rear-facing position while pivotingthe back portion 165 about the axis 175B and away from the front of thepassenger compartment 105 may cause the bench seat 110 to be arranged inthe front-facing position (shown in solid line in FIG. 6). Moreover, thesteering wheel 115 may be stowed by, e.g., moving the steering wheel 115toward the instrument panel 195 to make room for the front seats 110 tomove toward the instrument panel 195 to increase the leg room betweenthe front and second row seats 110 when the front seats 110 are facingrearward. In some possible implementations, the steering wheel 115 maybe foldable or collapsible to facilitate stowing the steering wheel 115or to create more room for the seats 110 and/or the passengers while thevehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode (see FIG. 9).

Furthermore, the computing device 215, discussed above, may beimplemented into the steering wheel 115 instead of the console 160 forwhen the vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous mode (see FIG. 3A).The steering wheel 115 may, therefore, include a docking station forreceiving the computing device 215. Alternatively, the computing device215 may be implemented directly into the steering wheel 115, which mayinclude incorporating, e.g., a touch-sensitive display screen 220 intothe steering wheel 115.

Alternatively, with reference to FIGS. 6-8, the front row seats 110 maybe folded toward the front of the passenger compartment 105 aboutanother axis 175C defined by the bottom portion 170 of each seat 110.The seats 110 may be folded and, e.g., stowed under the instrument panel195, which may be located at the front of the passenger compartment 105.In one possible approach, the folded seats 110, including the driverseat and the front passenger seat, may slide along rails 200, located onthe floor in the passenger compartment 105, toward an area underneaththe instrument panel 195. FIG. 6 illustrates an example where the frontrow includes a bench seat 110 and FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate exampleswhere the front row includes adjacent bucket seats 110 (i.e., a driverseat and a front passenger seat). The motor 150 (see FIG. 2) may be usedto fold the seats 110 and/or move the seats 110 to the location underthe instrument panel 195. Moreover, the motor 150 may return one or moreof the seats 110 to their original positions and/or orientations.

To accommodate the seats 110 under the instrument panel 195, one or morecomponents located in the passenger compartment 105, such as theaccelerator pedal 120 and the brake pedal 125 (see FIG. 1), may be movedfurther toward the front of the passenger compartment 105. Moreover, thesteering wheel 115 may move to make room for the driver's seat 110 toslide under the instrument panel 195. The pedals 120, 125 may bedeactivated when the vehicle 100 is operating in the autonomous modeand/or while the pedals 120, 125 are stowed to prevent inadvertentactivation. The pedals 120, 125 may be reactivated when no longer stowedand/or when the vehicle 100 is no longer operating in the autonomousmode. In some possible approaches, another row of seats 110, such as thesecond row or third row (see FIG. 8), may move forward when the seats110 in the first row are stowed under the instrument panel 195.Alternatively, or in addition, the third row may, e.g., recline so thatthe back portion 165 and bottom portion 170 are substantially alignedwith one another.

FIG. 9 illustrates a top view of an exemplary vehicle 100 having asteering wheel 115 configured to move from an operational position(solid line) to a stowed position (shown in dashed line). Note that FIG.9 provides but one example of a steering wheel 115 in operation andstowed positions, and that other examples, i.e., other operationaland/or stowed positions, are possible. Also, the steering wheel 115 maybe moved to an operational or stowed position regardless of whethervehicle 100 seats are or even could be reconfigured as described herein.The steering wheel 115 may be placed in the operational position at avehicle 100 driver's option and/or any time it is necessary foroperation of the vehicle 100, such when the vehicle 100 is operating ina non-autonomous or partially autonomous mode. The steering wheel 115may be in the stowed position if the vehicle is operating in theautonomous mode. When in the stowed position, the steering wheel may bepositioned under the instrument panel 195, giving a driver additionalleg room or clearance to move the driver seat 110 to a rear-facingposition. The steering wheel 115 may be configured to return to theoperational position prior to the vehicle 100 operating in thenon-autonomous mode or any partially autonomous mode that requires thedriver to use the steering wheel 115.

A first airbag 225, which may be installed in the steering wheel 115 fordeployment therefrom, may be configured to deploy during a collision,e.g., a frontal collision, that occurs while the steering wheel 115 isin the operational position. While the steering wheel 115 is in thestowed position, however, the first airbag 225 may be ineffective duringa collision, even if the driver seat 110 is facing forward. Therefore, asecond airbag 230, which may be located in a header above the windshieldnear the driver seat 110, may be deployed during a collision if thesteering wheel 115 is in the stowed position.

A processing device 235, which may be incorporated into the controller145 or some other controller in a vehicle 100 may be configured toselectively enable the first airbag 225 or the second airbag 230 basedon, e.g., whether the steering wheel 115 is in the operational positionor in the stowed position. When the steering wheel 115 is in theoperational position, the processing device 235 may enable the firstairbag 225 and disable the second airbag 230. Thus, in the event of acollision, the first airbag 225 will be deployed but the second airbag230 will not. When the steering wheel 115 is in the stowed position, theprocessing device 235 may enable the second airbag 230 and disable thefirst airbag 225 so that only the second airbag 230 may be deployed inthe event of a collision but the first airbag 225 will not.

The processing device 235 may further consider whether the driver seat110 is facing forward or backward. If facing forward, the processingdevice 235 may enable either the first airbag 225 or the second airbag230 according to the conditions previously discussed. If facingbackward, the processing device 235 may disable both the first airbag225 and the second airbag 230.

FIG. 10 illustrates a top view of another exemplary vehicle 100′. Itshould be understood that, unless otherwise provided herein, thedescription herein of vehicle 100 and the components and featuresthereof are equally applicable to the to the like components andfeatures of vehicle 100′—e.g. the passenger compartment 105′, the seats110′ including a driver seat 110 a′ and a passenger seat 110 b′,steering wheel 115′, the instrument panel 195′, the first airbag 225′ inthe steering wheel 115′, and the processing device 235′ all illustratedin FIG. 10, as well as the pedals, vehicle control system, controller,vehicle subsystems, user interface devices, crash sensors, seat motors,autonomous driving sensors, and other vehicle components and systemsdescribed herein with respect to the exemplary vehicle 100. Accordingly,repeated descriptions of these like features, components and systems areavoided herein.

The vehicle 100′ includes a multi-stage airbag 231′ across the vehicle100′ so as to laterally overlap with both the driver and passenger seats110 a′-110 b′. For example, as illustrated herein, the multi-stageairbag 231′ may be in a header above the windshield. In another example,the multi-stage airbag 231′ may be in the instrument panel 195′. Withfurther reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, during a collision, e.g. a frontalcollision, when steering wheel 115′ is in an operational position, thefirst airbag 225′may be configured to deploy at the driver seat 110 a′.Likewise, the multi-stage airbag 231′ may also be configured to deployat the passenger seat 110 b′.

As described herein, the steering wheel 115′ may be stowed, e.g. underthe instrument panel 195′, such as, by way of non-limiting example, togive a driver additional leg room or clearance during autonomous drivingoperations. Referring to FIGS. 13 and 14, when the steering wheel 115′is in the stowed position, the first airbag 225 may be unavailableduring a collision, even if the driver seat 110 a′ is facing forward.According to the principles of the present disclosure, the multi-stageairbag 231′ may be deployed at both the driver and passenger seats 110a′ and 110 b′ if the steering wheel 115′ is in the stowed position.

The multi stage airbag 231′ may have a variety of configurations. Forexample, the multi-stage airbag 231′ may be a dual-stage airbag with adual-stage inflator. In another example, the multi-stage airbag 231′ mayhave two or more multiple independent chambers and at least twoinflators.

The processing device 235′, which may be incorporated into a controllerin the vehicle 100′, may be configured to selectively enable inflationof the first airbag 225′ and/or the multi-stage airbag 231′ based on,e.g., whether the steering wheel 115′ is in the operational position orin the stowed position. When the steering wheel 115′ is in theoperational position, the processing device 235′ may enable the firstairbag 225′ and partially enable the multi-stage airbag 231′ to deployonly at the passenger seat 110 b′. Thus, in the event of a collision,the first airbag 225′ will be deployed at the driver seat 110 a′ and themulti-stage airbag 231′ will only be deployed at the passenger seat 110b′. When the steering wheel 115′ is in the stowed position, theprocessing device 235′ may enable the multi-stage airbag 231′ to deployat both of the driver and passenger seats 110 a′ and 110 b′, and disablethe first airbag 225′. The processing device 235′ may further considerwhether the driver seat 110 a′ and/or passenger seat 110 b′ are facingforward or backward. For example, if both are facing backward, theprocessing device 235′ may disable both the first airbag 225′ and themulti-stage airbag 231′.

FIG. 15 is a process flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process 1000of deploying steering wheel and multi-stage airbags, e.g. in the vehicle100′ during driving operations in which the driver and passenger seats110 a′ and 110 b′ are both facing forward, i.e. toward the instrumentpanel 195′. The process 1000 is generally executed according toprogramming in one or more vehicle controllers.

The process 1000 begins in a block 1005, in which the vehicle 100′monitors data from its one or more crash sensors. Next, in a block 1010,the controller of vehicle 100′ determines whether a frontal crashthreshold has been reached or exceeded, i.e. whether data from the oneor more crash sensors indicates that the vehicle 100′ has experienced,or imminently is likely to experience, a frontal collision. If not, theprocess loops back to the block 1005, and the monitoring continues.

If a frontal crash threshold is met, next, in a block 1015, thecontroller of the vehicle 100′ determines whether the steering wheel115′ is in a stowed or operating position. For example, a user interfacedevice could have provided an instruction to the controller to stow thesteering wheel 115′, and, in another example, the steering wheel 115′could be automatically stowed upon the vehicle 100′ entering anautonomous or semi-autonomous mode, etc. In any case, if the steeringwheel 115′ is stowed, then the process 1000 proceeds to a block 1020. Atthe block 1020, the controller of the vehicle 100′, or possibly aseparate airbag controller such as is known, provides a signal to deploythe multi-stage airbag 231′ at both the driver seat 110 a′ and thepassenger seat 110 b′, as illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14. If thesteering wheel 115′ is not stowed, i.e., is in an operating position,then the process 1000 proceeds to a block 1025. At the block 1025, thecontroller of the vehicle 100′, or possibly a separate airbag controllersuch as is known, provides a signal to deploy the first airbag 225′ atthe driver seat 110 a′ and the multi-stage airbag 231′ only at thepassenger seat 110 b′, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12. Afterdeployment of one or more airbags at one of the blocks 1020 and 1025,the process 1000 ends.

In general, computing systems and/or devices, such as the user interfacedevice 135, the controller 145, and the processing device 235, mayemploy any of a number of computer operating systems, including, but byno means limited to, versions and/or varieties of the Ford SYNC®operating system, the Microsoft Windows® operating system, the Unixoperating system (e.g., the Solaris® operating system distributed byOracle Corporation of Redwood Shores, California), the AIX UNIXoperating system distributed by International Business Machines ofArmonk, N.Y., the Linux operating system, the Mac OS X and iOS operatingsystems distributed by Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., and the Androidoperating system developed by the Open Handset Alliance. Examples ofcomputing devices include, without limitation, a computer workstation, aserver, a desktop, notebook, laptop, or handheld computer, or some othercomputing system and/or device.

Computing devices generally include computer-executable instructions,where the instructions may be executable by one or more computingdevices such as those listed above. Computer-executable instructions maybe compiled or interpreted from computer programs created using avariety of programming languages and/or technologies, including, withoutlimitation, and either alone or in combination, Java™, C, C++, VisualBasic, Java Script, Perl, etc. In general, a processor (e.g., amicroprocessor) receives instructions, e.g., from a memory, acomputer-readable medium, etc., and executes these instructions, therebyperforming one or more processes, including one or more of the processesdescribed herein. Such instructions and other data may be stored andtransmitted using a variety of computer-readable media.

A computer-readable medium (also referred to as a processor-readablemedium) includes any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) medium thatparticipates in providing data (e.g., instructions) that may be read bya computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such a medium may takemany forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media andvolatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical ormagnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media may include,for example, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), which typicallyconstitutes a main memory. Such instructions may be transmitted by oneor more transmission media, including coaxial cables, copper wire andfiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled toa processor of a computer. Common forms of computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, DVD, any otheroptical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium withpatterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EEPROM, any othermemory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer canread.

In some examples, system elements may be implemented ascomputer-readable instructions (e.g., software) on one or more computingdevices (e.g., servers, personal computers, etc.), stored on computerreadable media associated therewith (e.g., disks, memories, etc.). Acomputer program product may comprise such instructions stored oncomputer readable media for carrying out the functions described herein.

With regard to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc.described herein, it should be understood that, although the steps ofsuch processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to acertain ordered sequence, such processes could be practiced with thedescribed steps performed in an order other than the order describedherein. It further should be understood that certain steps could beperformed simultaneously, that other steps could be added, or thatcertain steps described herein could be omitted. In other words, thedescriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose ofillustrating certain embodiments, and should in no way be construed soas to limit the claims.

Accordingly, it is to be understood that the above description isintended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many embodiments andapplications other than the examples provided would be apparent uponreading the above description. The scope should be determined, not withreference to the above description, but should instead be determinedwith reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated andintended that future developments will occur in the technologiesdiscussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will beincorporated into such future embodiments. In sum, it should beunderstood that the application is capable of modification andvariation.

All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinarymeanings as understood by those knowledgeable in the technologiesdescribed herein unless an explicit indication to the contrary in madeherein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,”“said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicatedelements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1. A controller in a vehicle, the controller comprising a processor anda memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor,the instructions including instructions for: monitoring crash sensordata; detecting a frontal collision; and determining that a steeringwheel in a vehicle is in one of an operating position and a stowedposition, and, when the steering wheel is in the operational position,deploying a first airbag at the driver seat and a multi-stage airbag atthe passenger seat, and, when the steering wheel is in the stowedposition, deploying the multi-stage airbag at the driver and passengerseats.
 2. The controller of claim 1, wherein the first airbag is asteering wheel airbag.
 3. The controller of claim 1, wherein themulti-stage airbag extends substantially laterally across a passengercompartment of the vehicle.
 4. The controller of claim 3, wherein themulti-stage airbag is in a header of the vehicle.
 5. The controller ofclaim 3, wherein the multi-stage airbag is in an instrument panel of thevehicle.
 6. The controller of claim 1, the instructions furtherincluding instructions for determining whether the driver and passengerseats are facing forward
 7. The controller of claim 1, wherein themulti-stage airbag includes a dual-stage inflator.
 8. A system,comprising: a steering wheel locatable between an operational positionat a driver seat of a vehicle and a stowed position in the vehicle; afirst airbag coupled to the steering wheel; a multi-stage airbaglaterally overlapping with the driver seat and a passenger seat of thevehicle next to the driver seat; and a controller comprising a processorand a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by theprocessor, the instructions including instructions for detecting afrontal collision, locating the steering wheel, deploying the firstairbag at the driver seat and the multi-stage airbag at the passengerseat when the steering wheel is in the operational position, anddeploying the multi-stage airbag at the driver and passenger seats whenthe steering wheel is in the stowed position.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the multi-stage airbag includes two chambers.
 10. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the multi-stage airbag includes a dual-stage inflator.11. The system of claim 9, wherein the multi-stage airbag includes twoinflators.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the multi-stage airbag isin a header of the vehicle.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein themulti-stage airbag is in an instrument panel of the vehicle.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, the instructions further including instructions fordetermining whether the driver and passenger seats are facing forward.15. A method, comprising: monitoring crash sensor data; detecting afrontal collision; and determining that a steering wheel in a vehicle isin one of an operating position and a stowed position, and, when thesteering wheel is in the operational position, deploying a first airbagat the driver seat and a multi-stage airbag at the passenger seat, and,when the steering wheel is in the stowed position, deploying themulti-stage airbag at the driver and passenger seats.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the multi-stage airbag extends substantially laterallyacross a passenger compartment of the vehicle.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein the multi-stage airbag is in a header of the vehicle. 18.The method of claim 16, wherein the multi-stage airbag is in aninstrument panel of the vehicle.
 19. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising determining whether the driver and passenger seats are facingforward.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the first airbag is asteering wheel airbag.